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Jaguars Notebook: Team giving former Mandarin player a shot

Bob.Self@jacksonville.com Rashad Jennings pushes off of a teammate during morning drills.

Cornerback Mike Holmes was sleeping when the phone rang at his home in Indianapolis at 8 a.m. on Monday.

‘”I saw the number 904 and my eyes lit up. I woke up and they said, ‘we want to bring you in today.’ I popped out of bed and packed. It was exciting. I don’t think it’s hit me yet,’’ Holmes said.

Holmes was on an 11:35 a.m. plane to Jacksonville and signed with the Jaguars later in the day.

It was a sweet moment for a Jacksonville native who played his high school ball at Mandarin.

A cornerback who was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Bears last season, Holmes said of his shot to make the Jaguars, “That would be wonderful, not just the NFL, but here in Jacksonville. That will be a dream come true.’’

Holmes was released by the Bears on their final cuts last season. He was signed to the Colts’ practice squad on Oct. 12, promoted to the 53-man roster on Dec. 6, but didn’t play in a game. The Colts waived him on May 15 and he kept working out hoping to get a call.

He has been at EverBank Field only twice. The first time was when his Pop Warner team was honored for winning the Junior Midget national championship a decade ago.

The second was with the Colts for the season finale last year, but he didn’t play.

“Being able to travel and being in the stadium watching the game on the other side, that was a nice experience,’’ he said.

Holmes played defensive back as a sophomore at Mandarin, but his coach, the late J.D. Hall, switched him to running back his last two years.

Several schools recruited Holmes as a running back, but his heart was on playing defense so he went to Syracuse where he played defensive back and was a four-year starter.

Blackmon’s progress

Rookie Justin Blackmon struggled a bit in his second day in pads and missed some passes.

“He’s still a little bit behind the eight ball with some of the things: splits, depths, reads, but I’m pretty pleased with him for missing as much as he’s missed,’’ Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey said.

Blackmon worked during the afternoon special teams drill catching passes on a separate field from the four quarterbacks. Demetrius Williams, signed earlier this week, caught passes with Blackmon.

The regulars are scheduled to play a half Friday night at New Orleans, but Blackmon might come out early if he’s not ready to play a half this soon after ending his holdout.

Player’s truck stolen

Running back Richard Murphy parked his Dodge Ram outside of Citi Gate apartments on Saturday night and returned to find it gone the next morning, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office report.

Unfortunately for Murphy, the 30-inch DUB rims and tires, valued at $15,000 weren’t the only items missing, according to the report. Also stolen was his 2008 LSU National Championship ring and 2008 SEC title ring.

A 12-gauge Mossburg pump shotgun was not stolen from a secure compartment in the truck, said police, who are investigating the crime.

Etc.

Besides signing Holmes, the Jaguars cut S Jeremiah Brown, who missed time with a concussion early in camp. … T Eben Britton left practice a few minutes early with cramps. … Mularkey had noise piped in during the 11-on-11 drills because the Jaguars are playing in the Superdome on Friday night.